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Q: I have a 4 year old, fixed, indoor, siamese mixed breed cat. This is going to be an odd question, but she has a couple of "fetishes" that she does that just makes me want to ask why! She has a thing with licking plastic bags, and i can't understand why she does it. Does she like the taste or texture? I'm just worried that she is going to end up swallowing some and choking. Second, she has a thing with taking our socks and dragging them around the house...she only does this at night...i wake up and there is a trail of socks leading from my room all the way across the house sometimes...she'll even take them right out of the hamper! She leaves them in random locations around the house...the only reason why we think she may be doing this is because she got fixed before ever experiencing being a mother...so maybe she thinks that they are her "babies". If you have any other thoughts on this, could you please let us know. Thanks!
A: The plastic bag licking - more than likely she is fascinated by the sound that is made when she licks the plastic. You are dead right re your concern of swallowing the plastic. She probably wouldnt choke (although that possibility couldnt be ruled out), but a more likely (equally serious) problem is that it could get caught in her stomach or intestines, and she'd need to have emergency surgery to remove it. As for the socks, she has probably decided that they are her favourite toy!!!!! It would not be a reflection of being desexed before being a mother. Because she was desexed before ever having a litter, her hormonal influences (or lack thereof) would mean her body does not know what having a litter is all about so there would be minimal chance she would ever display mother-like behaviour. On the other hand, if a cat DID have a litter and then was desexed, there is a chance they might display motherly behaviour as they have experienced it before, so they are more "primed" to be a mother.
Q: I give my dog biscuits and meat which is always raw. Is it OK to give our pets cooked meat or should it always be raw?
A: Meat can be fed either cooked or raw. Raw is better as they need to chew it more (so better for their teeth) but some dogs and cats prefer their meat cooked.
Q: I recently bought a packet of flea treatment for my dog that I was also going to use on my cat but the label was covered in warnings against using it on cats. Why is it dangerous to cats?
A: Honestly, If i was given a dollar for every cat i've had to treat that was poisoned by a dog only flea product, i'd not have to work again! I want to start answering this question by asking a question back: If a product says "Do not give to cats" then why would you even consider giving it to a cat? Thats a bit like giving a child a medicine that states "not to be used in children". Sorry, I had to throw that bit in because we see cats poisoned by dog only flea products so often, and is something that should never happen in the first place. So that question has hit a bit of a raw nerve.
Now that i've had my 2 cents worth, i'll answer the question properly. Some of these products cannot be used on cats because they are toxic to cats. In fact, these products are very often fatal if given to a cat and they are not treated early enough. This is because the liver of dogs and cats function a little bit differently to each other. Cats livers cannot metabolise a lot of chemicals that dogs livers can meaning that what is safe for a dog is not necessarily safe for a cat. PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS OF ANY PET RELATED PRODUCT YOU BUY!!!!!!!
Q: my maltese dog is 17 yo and has started having fits
A: Seizures are a symptom of a potentially very large number of different diseases - way too many to go into - suffice to say that any animal having seizures should be examined by a vet to try to determine the cause of the seizures and therefore start appropriate treatment.
Q: Our 10yr old Samoyed was limping on her front left leg 10 days ago , we poked and prodded but could not find any signs of the cause. Since then she has rapidly degenerated into almost complete paralysis , she is unable to stand on her front legs at all while the back ones seem weak . She has been to our local vet twice to no effect , blood and urine tests were done and found inconclusive. She has now been bed bound for approx 5 days . She seems to be in reasonable spirits despite being laid up. The front legs feel to us to be wasting away. This is most disturbing to our family as we've had her since a pup. Initially we thought a tick may have been the cause, but our vet thinks not , also we are not in a tick area. We are desperate for any further advice . Thank you
A: If there has been a worsening of the problem, then this dog needs to be rechecked at your vet again. Radiographs of the forelimbs and spine might need to be performed. It would be unlikely to be a tick as ticks cause hindlimb paralysis whech then progresses to forwlimb paralysis.
